Lo’raek
wip The Layout The city is built in two parts, the lower city is built in a deep canyon with buildings built along the walls and the aqueducts/bridges connecting the two walls, with the upper city containing the industrial sector and space port, built on ground level above the lower city. The bridges are large enough to consist of multi leveled neighborhoods, with the water they carry being used as canals for lazy gondolas (Cool bubble gondolas). The aqueducts are fed by rivers that lead to the chasm and pour over the edge as waterfalls to be collected in massive reservoirs. The bridges are dripping with local flora. Hanging vines extend below the bridges, the streets are lined with trees with flowers of hypnotizing colors, and beautiful water gardens with gene-engineered plants and animals. The lower city contains all imaginable pleasures in the galaxy (except for poker), the city truly comes alive at night when the clubs electric lighting paints the landscape in a vibrant wet-neon colors and the business of the night market can be heard from miles away. Due to abundance of organized crime in the city, local laws have been loosened to allow for more free trade (Think Hamsterdam from The Wire mixed with Las Vegas), the uglier side of business is kept behind doors to keep from frightening the tourists. The lower city is itself split into two distinct parts. The real estate closest to the surface is owned by local Serpens families and overseen by a city director chosen by a vote of leading family heads. The noble district holds sprawling mansions, soaring towers of multi leveled nightclubs, and many extravagant hotels and casinos for visiting nobles. Underneath the noble district and its gaudy canals is the commoners district, down here everything is passionate, belligerent, and a little damp thanks to those stupid canals. The buildings are built wall to wall here, the streets are cramped but the alleys are dark. Occasionally the street breaks up into a plaza, where one of the cities many night markets can be found. Don’t wander far little noble. Here, anything goes. Have fun. The upper city is a stark contrast to the decadence of the lower city. To the sunset all that can be seen are short but wide tenements for the workers and the literal towers of industry pushed to the city edge to keep out of mind. The Story Lo’raek is the second oldest city on Hroa, the upper city was founded by dissidents in the early days of colonization, it was nothing but an outpost of smugglers and pirates for years, until the Oracular Council declared that the city must be taken back to house the refugees from one of the civil wars. Left to its own devices the city was more a loose collections of neighborhoods of different people from different planets, with no way home. Until a local Serpens family purchased the land and created the lower city, and squeezed the upper city for all they could. The Architecture The buildings of the upper city are mainly all simplistic square buildings that could be mass produced quickly, and buildings built after the familiar Imperial Prime design surrounding the space port. The Lower city’s style is all over the place, in the party district the style is loud and bombastic with buildings being built to attract the eye. The older parts of the city though are very blocky and solid with lots of engraved and carved sandstone. Establishments of Dubious Morality Upper City Coma A nightclub that caters to MES afflicted guests, with trained metapsionic hosts the club offers an atmosphere of enthusiastic relief. Lower city Category:Hroa Category:House Serpens Category:Cities